More Movement on the Fiscal Year 2011 Appropriations Process

Yesterday, the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education released some of the details on their marked up fiscal year 2011 appropriations bill for the Department of Education. These appropriations bills determine nearly all funding for the Department of Education for fiscal year 2011 which begins on October 1st, 2010. Much like the information on the House Appropriations Subcommittee mark up, the details currently available on the Senate Subcommittee mark up are less than thorough. However, we can draw some conclusions from the available information.

The Senate Subcommittee bill provides $14.9 billion for Title I Grants to Local Education Agencies, $450 million more than the president request and than was appropriated for fiscal year 2010. This is $50 million more than the House Subcommittee provides. The Senate Subcommittee mark up would also provide $11.9 billion for Special Education Grants to States, $170 million more than the president’s request and $220 more than was appropriated in 2010. The House Subcommittee does not provide a comparable number for their bill.

The Senate Subcommittee included $300 million in its mark up for the Early Learning Challenge Fund, a brand new competitive grant program for early education programs. The Senate subcommittee bill also includes $100 million for the High School Graduation Initiative, twice as much as was appropriated for that program in fiscal year 2011. We do not yet know whether the House subcommittee also included either of these programs in its mark up because they have not released details information.

The Senate Subcommittee also included $20 million for Promise Neighborhoods, twice as much as was appropriated in 2010. However, the President requested an appropriation of $210 million for fiscal year 2011 and the House Appropriations Subcommittee mark up includes $60 million for the program. This likely means that the final Promise Neighborhoods appropriation will fall somewhere between $20 million and $60 million assuming the full House and Senate approve the Subcommittee’s level.

The Senate Subcommittee also provided far below the President’s requested funding level for Race to the Top and Investing in Innovation, $675 million and $250 million, respectively. The president requested $1.350 billion for Race to the Top and $500 million for Investing in Innovation. The House subcommittee provided $800 million for Race to the Top and $400 million for Investing in Innovation in its mark up, also below the president’s request but above the Senate subcommittee level.

Beyond these few programs, its hard to compare funding levels between the House and Senate Subcommittee mark ups due to lack of information. See the table below for all the available information on both the Senate and House subcommittee bills. Check back with Ed Money Watch as the two appropriations bills make it through their respective full Appropriations committees and on to the floors of the full House and Senate.